Jets unfazed by lethargic loss to Stars

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This article was published 21/01/2019 (2420 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Juggling a softball-sized clump of sock tape, Blake Wheeler dutifully stood in the centre of the Winnipeg dressing room Saturday night trying to make sense of a rather pronounced misstep by the Jets.

The Dallas Stars darted to a well-deserved 3-0 lead through 40 minutes and eventually pinned a 4-2 loss on the Jets in the final test before both Central Division teams began their league-mandated bye weeks followed by the NHL all-star weekend.

It was, arguably, the Jets’ worst outing of the 2019 calendar year — giving an ugly 4-0 loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Jan. 4 a run for its money. Only a spirited — but ultimately fruitless — comeback bid in the third period, highlighted by a couple of goals in an 81-second span by Brendan Lemieux and Kyle Connor to cut the deficit to one, washed away some of the stink.

Post game, Wheeler rattled off a few reasons why the Jets made the mediocre Stars look like world beaters on this night: penalty problems (again); the will of a desperate opponent; unmitigated exhaustion.

“Just one of those nights,” he said.

Finally, Wheeler was asked if the defeat will stick in his craw for the duration of the break, until the Jets muster in Philadelphia on Sunday to prepare for a battle with the Flyers 24 hours later.

“I’m going to mull on the Jets being in first place in the Central,” he said, before launching the tape, basketball-style, into a trash can and stepping away from the media scrum.

The Jets captain was deflecting, to be sure — but he’s got a point.

Winnipeg (31-15-2) begins the bye week with a four-point lead over the Nashville Predators and a 12-point gap on Dallas and the Colorado Avalanche. It’s a near certainty the Jets will get home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs at Bell MTS Place, starting around April 10.

Only two teams of 30 other NHL clubs have better records than the Jets. The powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning (37-10-2) are running away in the Eastern Conference, while the Calgary Flames (32-13-5) continue to sizzle atop the Pacific Division.

Prior to the loss in Texas, the Jets had won four straight contests, seven of their past nine and 18 of 24.

Not even Tampa Bay is immune to the occasional pratfall. Last weekend, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was uncharacteristically average and the New York Islanders levelled the league front-runners 5-1.

Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who accompanies his linemate Wheeler to San Jose, Calif., on the weekend for NHL’s all-star showcase, didn’t seem overly concerned about the defeat to the Stars, either.

“We’ve played good hockey as of late. You’re gonna have a stinker every once in a while and we had ours tonight. But we get a break and we’re gonna rest our bodies and get ready for the final stretch,” Scheifele said.

“We’ve played good hockey, so we deserve it.”

Indeed, the Jets have played their finest hockey of the 2018-19 campaign the past few weeks, with exclamation points on triumphs last Tuesday over the Vegas Golden Knights and Thursday against the Predators in Music City.

Backup goalie Laurent Brossoit’s 43-save effort in a 4-1 win over Vegas was a season highlight. The former Edmonton farmhand, a bit of a reclamation project by Winnipeg, to be sure, has been the organization’s most pleasant surprise this season.

No. 1 goalie Connor Hellebuyck has had his ups and down this season, but was particularly sharp in Nashville and was the best player in a Jets jersey in Dallas, stopping breakaways in the third period to keep the Jets within striking distance.

Hellebuyck echoed Wheeler’s sentiments following the spin-out in Dallas, suggesting outsiders look at the bigger picture.

“I think Winnipeg should be very excited and happy with what we are. We’re in first and we’re working hard,” he said.

“I think we should expect to get better every day and continue to build our game, but let’s take a second and enjoy where we’re at.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell